In some cases, print data, including print data used for information communication and print data for function display, is created to obtain a print result larger in size than the largest print sheet that a printer can handle. In general, a print result larger in size than the largest print sheet that the printer can handle can be obtained as follows. Print data is divided into parts, which are then separately printed a number of times, thus performing division printing. A plurality of printed paper sheets are properly laid out and pasted on each other. This operation makes it possible to obtain a print result larger in size than a print result obtained by printing within the original print sheet. The operation is called poster printing.
To realize this poster printing, e.g., to enlarge a document page handled by an application and divide it into parts to be printed on a plurality of paper sheets, a margin to paste up is set on at least one side of each paper sheet so as to facilitate pasting operation, thus performing printing. In some printers, the printable area is smaller than the size of a paper sheet. For this reason, a margin is left on a paper sheet after printing, and becomes an unnecessary area in pasting operation. In an extreme case, printed information is covered by a margin upon pasting operation. For this reason, printing is performed with a cut margin set in advance to allow the margin portion to be cut.
In addition, to facilitate cutting and pasting operations, dashed lines are printed on the print data sides of margins to paste up and cut margins, or character strings like “overlap width” and “cut here” are respectively printed on a margin to paste up and a cut margin. Alternatively, instead of character strings, graphic patterns such as icons representing “overlap width” and “cut here” are printed on margins. In this specification, such character strings and graphic patterns like icons will be generically called patterns hereinafter.
In the above conventional techniques, the following problems are left to be solved.
Conventionally, in printing a document with a pattern, the bitmap data of the pattern is created by a printer driver and is superimposed on the bitmap data of each page of the document. The resultant data is then sent to a printer. Therefore, a large storage area is required for the printer driver to combine bitmap data.
In addition, assume that in a network environment, an application creates print data on the client side, and the printer driver operates on the server side. In this case, if the server does not have the font of a character string as a pattern, an icon image, or the like designed by the user on the client side, a document with a pattern cannot be printed.
In distributing “confidential” documents as in a case wherein data including print data for information communication and print data for function display are printed, the character “confidential” may be sealed on each page of the document. Since it is expensive to manually affix a seal on each page of printed matter, an electronic mark “confidential” or the like is generally printed together with a document. A mark such as “confidential” is called a stamp.
In printing a document with a stamp, an application must have an input portion for receiving a character string or the like representing a stamp to combine the stamp designated by the user in creating the print data of each page of the document, and transmit the resultant data to the printer. In order to improve this operation, a technique of implementing a stamp function using a printer driver is available. According to this technique, an interrupt is generated in the execution of the printer driver in response to a command added in the printer driver to temporarily interrupt the operation. Control is then transferred to a sub-application to make it draw a stamp, thereby providing a stamp drawing command for the printer driver. The printer driver then superimposes the drawing data of the stamp on the print data of a document page created by the application.
However, the above-described conventional technique has the following drawbacks. In the above conventional technique, in printing a document with a stamp, the bitmap data of the stamp is created by the printer driver and superimposed on the bitmap data of each document page, and the resultant data is sent to the printer. Therefore, the printer driver requires a large storage area to combine bitmap data.
In addition, assume that in a network environment, an application creates print data on the client side, and the printer driver operates on the server side. In this case, if the server does not have the font of the stamp or the like designated by the user on the client side, the document with the stamp cannot be printed.
There have been demands for a technique of printing documents upon printing various marks, frames, and images (to be generically referred to as patterns hereinafter in this specification), as well as character strings, on paper sheets. In contrast to this, there have also been demands for a technique of printing patterns upon printing documents. Demands have therefore arisen for the development of a printing system which efficiently performs such processing.